


Passengers

by Evil_Keshi



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Eve, Established Relationship, Falling In Love, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:40:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21863098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evil_Keshi/pseuds/Evil_Keshi
Summary: Christmas Eve, a delayed plane, a fortuitous meeting and an elderly couple playing matchmakers.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 70
Kudos: 330





	Passengers

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Italiano available: [PASSEGGERI](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21902401) by [kate_kate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kate_kate/pseuds/kate_kate)



  


DELAYED

Above his head, the red little dots flashed angrily across the screen, next to the flight number of the plane to Boston that was supposed to take off in half an hour. _His_ plane, of course. That half-hour would turn in two whole hours, apparently, and he heaved a deep sigh as he sat down next to an elderly couple. Resigned to wait since there was nothing else he could do, he settled as comfortably as he could on the airport signature plastic seat, crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes, in hopes to rest a little. He had time.

Two hours, in fact. His mother would be pissed. He had not tempered with the plane, so it wasn't his fault that he'd probably arrive in time for the main course and dessert but not for the appetisers, potage, salad and whatever first course she might have prepared, but... He knew his mother. She hated it when carefully laid-out plans were upset at the very last second by an unexpected event, so tonight, on Christmas Eve to top it all, he had no doubt that she was somehow going to blame him for the failure of this evening that had been organised in details, months prior to the actual date.

He had not texted nor called her about the upcoming disaster yet. He could already hear her in his mind, even picture her, this close to tear at her hair as she shouted in the phone that he should have booked an earlier flight, should have cancelled that business trip to Toronto... What if he didn't make it in time and they had to open the Christmas presents without him? He didn't really care, to be honest, at least not for himself. His gifts for his brother's kids were in his luggage though and he did feel sad at the prospect of missing his nephews' overjoyed expressions if he didn't arrive before they had to go to bed.

Eyes still shut, he carelessly stretched his long legs to make himself at home or almost - except that someone suddenly yelped at the same time as his tibia started to hurt, milliseconds before the sound of a person meeting the floor in a rather noisy and painful way rose very close to him. Oh, crap.

He was on his feet in an instant, his right hand shooting for the person's - a man - elbow to help him up.

"I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed, supporting part of the man's weight while he stood up, and his free hand covered his mouth in shocked horror, "Are you okay?"

The horror turned into embarrassed delight once he got a good look at the man in front of him, dressed in dark skinny jeans that looked painted on his thighs and in a creamy sweater, slightly oversized and making him look quite cute. The man didn't move nor answer at first, as if stunned by his unexpected fall, until his eyes focused and he smiled at him.

"I... think so," he said and bent down to brush some dust off his knees, "Nothing's broken, at least."

"I'm so, so sorry," he repeated, "I... didn't see you."

No kidding. He'd closed his eyes and now, he was standing like an idiot in front of a quite attractive man that he'd probably hurt, even though the latter wasn't saying anything about that, and he didn't exactly manage to tear his gaze away from that beautiful face. From what he could see though, the other man wasn't making any effort to look away either but was actually... checking him out. Openly.

He flushed. Should he... introduce himself, offer his hand to shake? Blurt out a cheesy pick-up line? No, no, no, bad idea. He should just... play it cool. Give his name, ask for the other's.

"Ah, love at first sight," cooed a voice behind him before he could utter a single word, "How wonderful."

"I'm sorry?" he squeaked as he turned around and met the eyes of the old man he'd been sitting next to until an angel tripped over his legs.

Under his grey hair, the old man's eyes were sparkling as he looked between him and the victim of his long limbs, who looked surprised but not overly unsettled by the whole situation.

"Love at first sight!" the man repeated with a grin, "You should see yourselves, you look smitten already! You two would make such a beautiful couple..."

"Love at first sight?" the angel behind him echoed with faint amusement, before he pointed out the obvious. "I fell flat on my face. That's not a good first impression."

"You're fine," he said without thinking, which made them both go a little red and had the gray-haired man wiggle his eyebrows.

"See?" the old man added, "That's what I meant! Besides, my husband and I actually met like this, too! He ran into me on the street - with his cup of coffee and all, ruined my jacket, the fool - and that was it. I knew he was the one."

For further proof, he grabbed the hand of the man who was sitting by his side and looked mortified at the way his husband was trying to play matchmaker for the two young and perfect strangers in front of them. Unless he was a bit annoyed that his partner was spilling parts of their story to, again, perfect strangers? He allowed his husband to show them his hand though, as well as the ring on his fourth finger.

"Let them be," the latter said with a roll of his eyes that his partner snorted at, as if he was too used to his antics to care anymore. "Not everyone literally _falls_ in love."

"Have you seen them?" the other insisted, "Don't they remind you of us when we were young? They can barely look away from each other!"

"That doesn't mean..."

"Where are you going to?" the old man asked excitedly, ignoring his husband - although he kept his hand in his own and squeezed it, either in an apology or a silent _I got this, don't worry_.

It was cute, really, how this seventy-something-year-old guy was trying to set him up with a young and gorgeous man who'd just happened to tumble over him. When he looked at the other, he was smiling and gave him an encouraging nod. Oh. So... They were really going to humour their elders? Fine.

"Boston," he said at last, and decided to make his answer a bit longer, "I'm going back to my mom's for Christmas' Eve... My whole family will be there. You?"

"Boston, too. My father lives here but he's an asshole and I decided not to stay for Christmas. I booked the first flight available, didn't care where I went."

"Fate!" the old man cut in and splayed one hand over his heart, which got his husband to shake his head in disbelief at the dramatics, "Maybe you can spend Christmas' Eve together! How wonderful!"

"Oh my God," his husband drawled and slapped a hand over his face, "They don't know each other!"

"Don't mind him, he's grumpy because he didn't have his morning cuddles earlier," the man told the other two before he answered his partner, " _We_ didn't know each other when you bumped into me and immediately proceeded to ask me out to dinner that very same evening. Look how well that worked out!"

"That's not the same as inviting you over to a family dinner on Christmas Eve!"

"At least the introductions to the in-laws will already be done by the time they start dating properly," the old man whispered to his husband with a side-glance to the two younger ones, "Remember how nervous you were to introduce me to your mother..."

"Because my mother was terrifying and _you_ were just as nervous. You were just better at hiding it."

"True," the old man said with a slow nod, then narrowed his eyes at the young men still standing in front of him - they were glancing at each other in mixed amusement and hesitation. "Anyway, you have two hours before your plane takes off, which means you have all the time in the world to get acquainted. So, about that Christmas Eve together?"

And he, like a fool, found himself looking at the young man who'd fallen over his legs and tilting his head, arching his eyebrows in a silent question. Somehow, this decision felt as unexpected as it made perfect sense. Perhaps part of him knew, like the old man once had, that the person in front of him was the one.

"I... I wouldn't want to... impose," the other stammered as he played with the hem of his sweater, his cheeks flushed with the desire to just say yes but held back by sudden shyness.

"It's Christmas Eve," he insisted, to which the old man behind him whooped, "You shouldn't spend it alone. My mom would be glad to have you - _I_ would be glad to have you. You can think about it of course, we have time. Maybe we could go and get some coffee while we wait for our plane?"

"I... Yeah," the other breathed out, "I'd like that. Thank you."

They shared a smile and walked away then, already lost into each other's eyes as they asked for names and not paying any attention anymore to the elderly couple behind them, even though they were both smiling at their retreating backs. The older man turned to his husband.

"Love at first sight, Alexander, I'm telling you."

Alec snorted.

"You're lucky they weren't offended by your meddling," he shot back, "Some might not have been so happy to have you play matchmaker for them."

"I can recognise that special something in the air when I see it, thank you very much. After fifty-two years, you're still not the romantic one in this relationship, uh?"

"Please, Magnus," Alec said, rolling his eyes, "You cried when I proposed. You said that was the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for you."

Alec knew he wouldn't like his husband's answer as soon as he saw his eyes twinkle.

"Yeah, well," Magnus shot back with a grin, "no one had ever proposed to me before you, so... It wasn't so hard to come out on top."

"You're an ass," Alec laughed, then smiled as Magnus brought his hand to his lips and kissed his wedding ring. "I love you."

"I love you too, Alexander," Magnus answered, tugging onto his husband's hand until Alec followed and he could kiss his mouth, lingering there and rejoicing at the feeling of _home_ when Alec wrapped an arm around him.

Their moment was over when the arrival of their plane was announced on the screen above their heads. Alec grudgingly parted from Magnus, although he kept his hand on his lower back when they stood and he grabbed his husband's hand luggage, frowning at the weight.

"What did you put in this?"

"Christmas presents," Magnus answered, somewhat coyly, and Alec knew him too well to satisfy himself with that short explanation.

"Which ones?" he soldiered on, "I thought we'd put the gifts for Max, Rafael, our daughters-in-law and the kids in the other bags?"

"Well, they're for you, what do you think?" Magnus grumbled, foreseeing Alec's reaction - and he wasn't disappointed.

"We said we wouldn't gift each other anything!" he exclaimed.

"We've said that for the past fifty-one Christmases," his husband pointed out with a smirk, "and every time, we still gave something to each other."

"Point taken," Alec said, laughing, and he took Magnus' hand in his own. "I did buy something for you, too."

"I would have been surprised if you hadn't," he answered, pecking Alec's lips as they walked toward the boarding gate. "Fifty-two years, Alexander, fifty-two!"

"Are you complaining?" Alec asked, feigning offence, and Magnus turned such soft and loving eyes towards him that he felt his knees grow weak, just like that first day when he'd splashed his coffee all over Magnus and had been met with two shocked but amused eyes that had mesmerised him.

"Never, Alexander," Magnus whispered with a wink as he showed his boarding pass and ID to the airport staff, then Alec's since both his hands were unavailable.

Right before they entered the passenger bridge that would lead them to their plane, on a sudden impulse, Magnus looked around and grinned when he caught sight of two young men walking around the airport with Styrofoam cups of coffee in their hands, talking and smiling as they tentatively learned to know each other.

"Told you so," Magnus whispered in Alec's ear, and his husband tilted his head just enough to kiss his cheek, no doubt in a silent acknowledgement of his immense and unparalleled matchmaking talents.

As they walked down the boarding bridge, the artificial lights of the airport shone upon their wedding rings and joined hands, that had found each other so many times over the years that they fit perfectly, as if they had never belonged to two different people in the first place.

  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading this short Christmas piece! I hope you enjoyed it ;)


End file.
